Crossing borders

PAUL MORAN likes a challenge. So after finishing his degree at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Moran, who is Scottish, decided to go abroad to study for his PhD. He went to the Technical University of Berlin, and despite hardly being able to speak the language at the start, he chose to write his thesis in German. "There was no point in struggling for nearly four years to master the language then not to use it," he says.

But Moran is the exception. When it comes to work and study, most of us in Europe are stay-at-home types, not taking the opportunities that our neighbours have to offer. The European Commission estimates that less than 0.4 per cent of the population of any European country is working in another, despite the fact that 17 per cent of Europeans express a desire to work in another country in the next ...

To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.

To continue reading this article, log in or subscribe to New Scientist

App + web

Web

Smartphone

Tablet

$25.99 - Save 65%

12 issues for $2.17 per issue

with continuous service

Print + web

Print

Web

$28.99 - Save 61%

12 issues for $2.42 per issue

with continuous service

Print + app + web

Print

Web

Smartphone

Tablet

$39.99 - Save 73%

12 issues for $3.33 per issue

with continuous service

Web

Web only

$49.99

30 day web pass

Prices may vary according to delivery country and associated local taxes.